Roblox 'illegally facilitated child gambling': lawsuit
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Roblox, the online video game maker of popular hits such as “Murder Mystery 2,” “Adopt Me,” and “Slap Battles” is being sued by the parents of two minors who allege that the company is illegally facilitating child gambling.
Rachelle Colvin, a California resident, and Danielle Sass, who lives in New York state, filed suit against the San Mateo, Calif.-based company last week in San Francisco federal court.
The plaintiffs accuse Roblox of “allow[ing] third-party gambling websites, including the highly popular online casinos operated by defendants Satozuki, Studs, and RBLXWild…to use the Roblox website to accept online bets using Robux, to be placed on games at [their] virtual casinos,” according to court papers.
The lawsuit alleged that Roblox was in violation of its own terms of service, which states that “experiences that include simulated gambling, including playing with virtual chips, simulated betting, or exchanging real money, Robux, or in-experience items of value are not allowed.”
According to the lawsuit, Roblox users, most of whom are minors, “first purchase Robux through the Roblox website, using either their own money, a parent’s credit card, or gift cards they possess.”
The minor then “navigates to one of the” three aforementioned sites’ “virtual casinos” that “exist outside the Roblox ecosystem,” according to court papers.
“Then, the user links their Robux wallet on Roblox’s website to the gambling website,” the court documents alleged.
“And finally, once the minor-user’s wallet is linked, the gambling website converts the minor user’s Robux into credit that can only be wagered in their virtual casinos,” according to the lawsuit.
“The gambling credits function just like chips in a brick and mortar casino,” the defendants alleged in court papers.
“Users ‘buy in’ using their Robux, obtain chips, gamble until they lose their money or wish to cash out, and, if they increase their credits, they cash those credits out in exchange for Robux,” the lawsuit alleged.
“This entire exchange of Robux occurs on the Roblox platform with Roblox’s knowledge and active support, and Robux never leave the Roblox ecosystem unless and until they are cashed out for fiat currency,” according to court documents.
A Roblox spokesperson told The Post: “We can’t address the specific allegations of the lawsuit, given the pending litigation.”
Bu the spokesperson added: “Bad actors make illegal use of Roblox’s intellectual property and branding to operate such sites in violation of our standards.”
“Roblox has teams and processes in place to investigate these types of websites to protect our brand and platform, including, where possible, having the websites removed,” the spokesperson said.
“In some cases, we engage with law enforcement as part of our efforts.”
The company rep added: “Ensuring a safe and compliant online experience for users of Roblox is a core tenant of the company.”
“Roblox will continue to be vigilant in combating entities who engage in practices that are in violation of our policies or endanger the safety of our community.”
Reps for Satozuki, Studs, and RBLXWild were not immediately available for comment.
Roblox, which operates a metaverse — an emerging virtual space where people play games and make transactions — reported 65.5 million daily active users in the most recent quarter, with a long-term goal of reaching 1 billion daily users.
